In recent months, Law Made was part of a Silicon-Valley based discussion where several key players in the legal innovation and investment ecosystem volleyed around the potential paths for Ravel.

The Law Made worldview is not always the one that carries the day – but we were always enthused about the possibility of acquisition.

Where others have hesitation when a startup is in the cross-hairs of a big industry player — we see it as a win-win outcome, under the right conditions.

Digital Davids are meant to dance with Enterprise Goliaths because that is what marks progress. The most value is created out of a transaction like this one as the distribution channel and reach could never be achieved on a fast enough timeline for the David. It is extremely difficult to hit scale on your own. At the same time, Enterprise Goliaths can only create and innovate at a certain pace — which is not necessarily market connected.

Liquidity events are a good thing for founders that are building single-purpose products rather than brands with multiple lines of business.

No doubt there are already industry watchers hypothesizing as to whether Ravel was acquired to kill it, to eliminate strong competition from the marketplace or to allow internal products to acquire a greater piece of the market.

We don’t believe that this is the case at all. Ravel built something powerful and timely. Working in concert with a Goliath in the position of LexisNexis has the possibility to make growth exponential.

As Law Made continues raising a venture fund– we are seeing amazing deal flow through our work with many of the best legal startups that are going to create lasting value — but not necessarily on their own.

This announcement is another notch on what is becoming a clear pattern. Ravn’s acquisition by iManage is another major milestone. Not only do these acquisitions create a relevant and meaningful next chapter for leading players in the legal innovation space, it’s further validation that the Digital Davids and Enterprise Goliaths can dance together and they should do so as often as possible as long as the music is playing.

– “Us vs Them” limits value creation

Coke versus Pepsi is for mugs –

Competition is only useful when dealing with commodities. To suggest that Ravel and LexisNexis would otherwise be going head to head is to belittle the offering as merely sugar water commodity.

As we begin to see what is pretty obviously market consolidation in legal, more opportunities will be created for winning outcomes for product users, founders, acquirers and investors. That’s an ecosystem win.

Those that are Makers of legal innovation are in for an interesting ride over the coming months and years – and today is but one hallmark of market maturation. We are certain that more Good News is coming.